


A Fishy Situation

by MintZephr



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Bisexual Lance (Voltron), Fluff and Hurt/Comfort, Gay Keith (Voltron), Multi, klance, mermaid au, merman au
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-03-16
Updated: 2018-05-01
Packaged: 2019-04-01 02:47:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 11,745
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13988865
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MintZephr/pseuds/MintZephr
Summary: Lance and Keith never expected to end up in a different alternate universe of mermaids and mermen as for to become some themselves.





	1. The story begins

The paladins landed on a gigantic glowing planet covered in mystical blue trees and silver lakes. It looked like straight out of a fairytale with its beautiful scenery and abscure features. The trees emitted a soft blue into the atmosphere, causing a dreamy vibe everywhere and already the effects were starting to wear upon the five. Shiro in the lead, all Paladins headed towards the located temple on their digital maps.   
Allura and Coran would be following not long after in the Castle of Lions. 

 

The walk to the temple was extremely long and painful, especially for Lance who was complaining non-stop.   
“How much further?” He groaned miserably   
“My poor legs can’t take it. I can feel the energy draining out of me with every, single, step!”  
“Lance! Would you shut up?!” Keith barked, his steps becoming more heavy as the trees effects began to wear off on him too. Lance poked out his tongue and sneered at the back of Keith’s head.

 

The paladins helmet intercoms beeped, alerting them that Allura or Coran were trying to communicate. Everyone pressed the sides of their helmets to allow themselves to hear the two Alteans.  
“Not too far away now paladins!” Chirped Coran loudly over the speakers.   
“That’s great to hear, Coran” Shiro answered  
“I reckon we’re just about at the temple now. What should we do when we get there?”  
A loud ruffling could be heard over the speakers and suddenly Allura spoke up.  
“Paladins don’t touch anything!” Allura blurted out  
“You don’t know what the objects there could do to you”  
“Thanks for the heads up” Pidge said.  
“Yeah, Thank you Allura” Hunk chimed in, a slight hint of worry in his voice. Everyone knew how nervous Hunk could get so it was no surprise if he got scared or anxious on missions. They disconnected their helmets and continued on their travel.

Not long after, a large ancient building rose in the distance. The structure was so detailed, every single stone having its own unique pattern and it radiated a soft blue just like the rest of the planet. Caustiously, the Paladins entered through the stretched opening into the wide open area of the temple. Various statues and monuments stood all around the room. Vases ranging from tiny to large covered shelves and filled crevices, some nearly just piles of crumpled ceramic dust. Everywhere you looked, there was some new artifact or doorway to a completely different room. Runes covered the walls top to bottom, all in unreadable foreign language.  
“This place is really something” Lance stated, dragging his fingertips across the writing on the walls.   
“I’ve never seen anything like it!” Pidge breathed, amazed at the effort of detail to the place.  
“Guys remember don’t touch anything” Shiro warned.

Splitting off to take pictures and investigate the temple, Lance immediately headed straight for a room which had some strange noises like whispers coming from it. The space shone a bright turqoise and little water ripples reflected all over the walls from a little fountain in the middle of the floor. Lance walked over to it curiously and peeked over the edge into the misty liquid. Something started to change in the direction of the ripples. They were forming a picture, morphing Lances reflection into something he couldn’t yet properly see. Finally, the water had transformed Lances face into another version of himself, at least that’s what it looked like. Lance could see blue scales up the side of his face and his ears had turned into what looked like fins. Lifting his hands up to feel where they were, he was only met with the familiar shape of his human ears. Lance smiled down at the reflection. It’s teeth were pointed and sharp, just like a vampires. Whatever was looking back and mimicking Lances movements couldn’t possibly be him. He definitely didn’t look like that... creature. Deciding that this fountain was worth letting the others know about, Lance turned to call out to them.  
“Hey guys!” He yelled “You have to see this, quick! I found a fountain which makes your reflection look different!”

 

The others all entered from different sides of the room to look at what lance had found. Hunk bent over to peer into the water, but he was only met with his same face.  
“I don’t get it” he shrugged “my reflections the same. Are you sure you’re not just tricking us?”  
Lance ran to beside hunk and looked into the water. His own reflection appeared again, instantly turning into the creature.   
“Look!” He cried, pointing urgently at the water. Hunks eyes widened to the size of golf balls.   
“That’s not normal!” He shrieked “what is that THING?!” Hunk ran up to a wall and flattened himself against it, staring horrified at the fountain.   
“What is it hunk?” Keith addressed walking over to the water now. He gazed into the ripples blankly before suddenly his eyes shot wide open and he stumbled backwards in fright.   
“What the fuck?!” He spluttered “That wasn’t me looking back! It looked like an alien!”. Lance had never seen Keith so scared of something before, it was kind of funny.   
“Well yeah it’s creepy and all” Lance agreed “but I actually find it quite cool”. Keith and Hunk turned in sync, to look at Lance in shock.   
“How?!” They chorused. Pidge pushed forward and stared at the water herself but nothing happened to her too.  
“Strange. It seems that this is a very old magical fountain used by royals years ago. They’re known as “Seeing wells”. They apparently can show users how they look in other possible universes, but of course only some can exist in these. Hunk and I must not be able to, but it seems that Lance and Keith can” Pidge watched the fountain admiringly.   
“So what you’re saying” Keith began.  
“Is that those reflections are Keith and I in a different world?!” Lance finished. They both looked at each other in utter horror.   
“Guys, I think it’s best if we leave this room” Shiro suggested, obviously not liking it at all. Everyone agreed but just as lance and Keith were about to exit, a large band of some strange energy wrapped itself around them. They struggled in surprise and panic as they tried to break free of the forces grasp. The other Paladins had noticed and were trying to help but all the doorways were blocked by invisible barriers. They were shouting things but Keith and Lance couldn’t hear them as the energy continued to pull them towards the fountain.   
Suddenly, they were being pulled through and downwards into the water. It was icy cold at first but almost instantly it felt like a warm embrace shielding them from it. All they could see were bright colours of white, blue and soft purple as they most likely were being dragged extremely fast down some unknown portal. All lance remembered was seeing a large blue opening before he randomly blacked out and fell into a scarily, long sleep.


	2. The paladins have fins

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lance and Keith discover they have Merman tails and get to speak to a real life mermaid.

Keith awoke with a gasp to find himself lying upon a hard, rocky surface. He glanced around frantically until his eyes fell upon lance who was also looking extremely frightened.  
“Lance! What happened? Where are we?” Keith burst out, now noticing the seaweed covering the ground of wherever they were.  
“I-i don’t know” Lance muttered quietly. Keith suddenly noticed something blue and shiny attached to Lance’s torso, which for some reason was now missing clothes. It draped over the side of the rocky bed so he couldn’t fully see it, but it looked scaly and fish-like. He looked down to find the same thing had happened to him, except his was red. Lifting up what should have been his legs, Keith was instead met with a long sparkling red merman tail. The fins glistened and swayed and the scales shimmered different shades of orange, red and silver.  
“Oh..my..god..” Keith breathed, feeling his heart rate starting to pickup. He looked over to find lance gaping at him in complete shock. His pupils had shrank to the size of fleas and his mouth dropped open so wide it looked like it would fall off. Lances head shot to his own tail, which he lifted to find a beautiful glowing blue pair of fins which had long wisps flowing like jelly fish tentacles. Lances eyes widened even more as he began to process what had happened.  
“Wherever we are” he started “it’s definitely not normal”. Both boys looked around and spotted a small opening. They now realised that they appeared to be in a cove. They were somehow underwater too and breathing normally. The ground was covered in golden sand and all the seaweed flowed lazily in the currents. Keith had so many thoughts that all could not be answered and just when he thought he was going to lose his mind, a beautiful pink and violet mermaid swam through the entrance.  
“You’re awake” she stated soothingly, her voice like a dreamy breath. The mermaids long red hair flowed behind her and looked like tiny waves closely packed together. Her eyes shone a brilliant blue and she wore little shells on her head and torso.  
“My name is Asrai. I am an assistant here in Lochmere. I have never seen you mer around before” The mermaid looked suspiciously at the paladins, both of them noticing her pupils were slits like a cats eyes.  
“We didn’t mean to come here!” Lance assured her frantically. “We somehow got taken by a Seeing Well into-“  
“A Seeing Well?” Asrai leant close to Lances face, a smile curling at her lips. Lance blushed as she inched even closer.  
“Seeing Wells are ancient artifacts used by Royals. Are you of any royalty little fish” her eyes stared right into Lances, making him stare dreamily at her like she was casting a spell over him. Keith didn’t approve of this. Who did this lady think she was? Coming here to flirt with his teammate when they were obviously in a place where they shouldn’t be. Keith cleared his throat noisily. Asrai turned to look at Keith, as if only just noticing he was there.  
“Apologies” she said sincerely. “Us mermiads have a habit of trying to enchant mermen. It’s just our nature, you must understand” she looked at Keith hopefully. He stared back, a million questions clouding his head.  
“Where are we?” He demanded loudly. Asrai looked taken aback.  
“Lochmere. I told you this, silly one”  
“But where? Are we on a planet or in the ocean?” Keith was getting frustrated.  
“Lochmere is an underwater city on a planet only reachable by the Seeing Wells. If what the blue one says is true, and you really did get captured by the Well, then it is my greatest honour to welcome you both here to our city. If you haven’t already noticed, you have merman tails now. Real unique scales you boys have. Especially this blue tail” Asrai admired as she lifted up Lances tail fins.  
“How are we supposed to move with these things?!” Lance complained, wriggling uncomfortably on the rock.  
“You swim, confused one!” Asrai laughed, a series of high pitched quipping and clicking that sounded like animal calls. Lance looked at her in annoyance, this wasn’t funny. He had never had a merman tail nor had he swam with one.  
“What if I can’t swim and drown!” Lance panicked.  
Keith watched him in embarrassment.  
“We can’t drown, Lance. Apparently we’re merman now”. A look of understanding shone across Lances face and he quietened down.

Asrai turned to a shelf which held a group of little bowls carved out of shells. They contained some weird glowing liquid that shone like gold and bubbled grossly. Asrai gave one each to Lance and Keith, then waited.  
“Uh, do we drink these?” Lance asked, staring down at the liquid in disgust.  
“Of course. These are what will allow you the proper strength of a Mer. Without this, you will still have your weakling human muscles” Asrai said this so casually that it was like an extremely rude insult.  
“How do we know you’re not tying to poison us?” Keith asked concerningly, swishing the little bowl around in his hands.  
“And why would I want to poison our new family?” Asrai smiled in disbelief.  
“Family?!” Lance sat up straight, looking worriedly at the mermaid.  
“Yes, you are one of us now. You’re part of our family” Asrai beamed all her pointy teeth in a smile at Lance and Keith.  
“We don’t want to be here! We want to get home!” Keith argued “We need to get back to the Castle of Lions!”  
This made Asrai turn sharply toward Keith and look him directly in the eyes.  
“Why do you dare to go to the Castle of Lions? That is home to the paladins of Voltron and the last living Alteans only. You will not leave this cove alive if you even have any plans of going there!” Asrai hissed, baring her teeth. Keith inched backwards, but the weight of his tail made it very hard.  
“But we are Paladins of Voltron!” Lance piped up, puffing out his chest in a proud manner. Asrai quickly dropped to the sea bed and bowed to them.  
“Forgive me, great protectors. I give you my permission to punish me for how I have talked to you! I did not know you were Paladins, I swear on my fins and gills!” Keith and Lance watched her in surprise. They were worshipped by these people?  
“Please, let me show you around, Greatest ones. There is much to see! But I must give news to the Queen of your arrival, she will be grateful of your presence”. And with that, Asrai swam out of the cove again, leaving Lance and Keith on their own.  
“Shall we try to swim?” Lance suggested, moving slowly off the rock. Keith agreed and did the same, but then remembered the gold liquid.  
“Wait! Lance drink your mer strength potion, first”.  
Both boys gulped down the oddly tasting drink before properly floating in the water off the rocks. Lance swished his tail around, which propelled him straight into a wall.  
“Ouch! These things are very strong, be careful”.

Keith was careful not to use much power and as soon as you know it, they were both swimming out of the cove, their tails flapping calmly behind them as they dove downwards to the glowing city of Lochmere.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 2! Keith and Lance are now Mermen. More chapters will be coming shortly. Thanks for continuing to read this :D


	3. The Queen of Lochmere

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Keith and Lance are introduced to the Queen of Lochmere and find out a possibility to get home. Also, there is some comforting Klance at the end :p

Lochmere had the most mesmerising strucutres Lance had ever seen. He was finding swimming with a tail to be quite easy now and he very much enjoyed it.  
“Keith would you look at this place! It’s incredible!” Lance looked over to find Keith observing everything in awe. His eyes sparkled in the city light and the violet in them glowed. Lance couldn’t help but blush a little and had to quickly look away before he blushed even harder. Keiths hand quickly wrapped around Lances arm as he saw a giant golden mansion and pulled Lance towards it. A small figure was waving at them in the distance and Lance noticed it was Asrai. They sped up and swam to her.  
“Greetings again. How are you enjoy the town?” Asrai asked kindly.  
“It’s AMAZING!” Lance grinned, going pink as the mermaid giggled.  
“Follow me, the Queen is expecting you both” Asrai waved them forward as she swam through the palace doors. Keith and Lance continued in Asrais direction, taking in the view of the beautiful garnished walls, vivid golden floors and stunning chandeliers made out of different kinds of glowing coral and marine plant life. 

They entered through a large pair of doors into a room where a dazzling mermaid sat upon a silver and golden shell throne. She had a long, shimmering tail of blue and purple and her fins were the size of two bear cubs, flowing out everywhere with a silver shine. Her face was kind but firm and the endless golden locks of hair sat perfectly around her face.  
“Paladins, may I introduce you to our Queen, Ephyra. Your majesty, I present you with our new family who are two Paladins of Voltron” Asrai bowed and urged Keith and Lance to do the same.  
“Welcome” Ephyra greeted “What brings you to Lochmere?”  
“They were brought here by a Seeing Well, your majesty” Asrai answered. The Queen looked slightly surprised by this, but instantly relaxed.  
“Whichever way you arrive, it does not seize the fact that you are new family and for that, in all merfolk tradition, a banquet shall be held here at the palace this evening!” Ephyra announced joyfully.  
Lance felt excitement rush all over him. A banquet? Could this get any better?  
Suddenly, Keith spoke up.  
“Your majesty. I’m sorry to interrupt but my teammate, Lance, and I didn’t know that the Seeing Well could do what it has done nor did we expect to end up here”. The Queen watched Keith intently, deciding what she should say.  
“Well, I am sorry to hear that. But I will make sure you are welcomed here as greatly as possible” She replied warmly.  
“Actually, we were wondering how we could get back to the temple where we first were” Keith continued, a hint of urgency in his voice.  
“It hurts me to say but you cannot get back. We do not own a Seeing Well here in Lochmere, as you have hopefully picked up they are extremely rare. Unfortunately there is no way to return home. I am sorry, paladin” Ephyra gave a small apologetic smile.  
“His name is Keith” Lance told her, but he sounded disappointed.  
“So you’re saying there is no possibility, at all, to get back to the Castle of Lions, ever?” Keith asked, frustration bubbling in his voice.  
Ephyra thought for a moment, a sudden glint in her eye as she remembered something.  
“There is one way” she began. “Every year, Lochmere holds a tournament called “Aquafine”. It’s a competition for mermaids and mermen to go against each other in a series of battles and challenges. The winner will be granted a prize of one wish of their choice. You could, if you competed and won, use that wish to get back home. Although one rule is set with these wishes. It can only work for one person”.  
Lance and Keith looked at each other in consideration. Only one of them would be able to get home, but maybe then they could get help to rescue the other.  
“When is this tournament held?” Lance asked.  
“In about four oceans from now” Ephyra replied.  
“Uh, oceans??”  
“Yes, I believe that equals two weeks in human time”  
“Right. How do we sign up?” Keith asked in determination.  
“Sign ups are held here in an ocean from now. Though I must warn you. These are no ordinary challenges. There are five in total. Firstly, you must go against one another in a one on one trident battle. Winners from the rounds will move to the next challenge which is a seahorse race. Third challenge is a hunt in the dark, a race against one another for the glowing pendant of the sea gods. There will be dangerous sharks and mutant mermaids lurking which can kill you if you are not careful. The fourth challenge is whoever can survive the charms and ear splitting screams of our sea goddess Ceto. The last challenge is a fight for those who remain. You must go against one another again but this time with obstacles and traps. If you are going to take part, I suggest you begin to train and research” Ephyra finished then rested in her throne.  
“I think we should leave our Queen to rest” Asrai suggested, bowing once more then turning to swim away. Keith and lance copied and followed her. Ephyra waved goodbye as they left.  
“

Lance didn’t even want to think about the tournament. What would happen if neither he or Keith won? They’d both be stuck as mermen in Lochmere forever. Lance tried to push the thoughts away and instead think about the banquet. He had only ever once tried merfolk food when he and Hunk had been teleported their by a portal that split all the paladins up in their Lions. Just remembering this made lance feel extremely sad. He already missed the other Paladins so much and desperately wanted to go home. He and Keith hadn’t even been here a day yet and he was already feeling homesick. How was he supposed to last all the weeks up until Aquafine? 

Asrai led the boys to a pretty building decorated with sea flowers and seaweed. She took them inside and then to two large bedrooms.  
“This is where you shall stay. This is also my home” Asrai added happily. Lance already loved the look of his bedroom and he hoped Keith liked his own too.  
“Thanks for this, you didn’t have to” Keith said greatfully. Asrai shrugged him off, it was the least she could do.  
“I shall leave you both to it. I’ll come to collect you later when it’s time for the banquet” Asrai bid goodbye and swam off. 

 

“So, what do you want to do?” Lance asked, gazing at a small cluster of shells on a dresser.  
“Honestly, I don’t know. How can you be so relaxed right now?” Keith said, looking at Lance in question.  
“Trust me, I’m not. It’s just in my nature to get like this when my minds really troubled. I guess that’s why people never really know when something is wrong with me” lance dropped his gaze to the floor, trying hard to not sound upset.  
Keith watched in sympathy.  
“Sorry that you feel like that. You know if you ever are feeling down I’m there to talk to you if you need” Keith offered, smiling slightly as Lance looked up again. He really did look amazing with that blue tail. It fitted him so well. Suddenly the tail was moving and so was Lance. He rushed forward and embraced Keith in a hug so tight that Keith thought his lungs would explode.  
“I really don’t want to be here” lance muttered into Keith’s shoulder. “I want to go home so badly. And-and- I’m afraid Keith” Lance pulled away and stared him in the eyes. The shining blue of Lances eyes made Keith’s heart sting. He didn’t know why. Just the sight of them made him feel so many things at once. The look they were giving Keith. Like it was a cry for help because of many things. Keith could tell Lance was going to cry. This was all so much for him. Keith took Lances hands and swam him over to a rock where he sat beside him, watching expectantly as Lance began to shudder. Next thing you know, Lance had planted his face against his hands as tears bubbled upwards from his eyes. Some blue scales that rested on his jaw glistened brightly as tears were smudged onto them. Keith pulled Lances hands down and tried his best to think of something to say. He really wasn’t good at this sort of thing.  
“Listen, Lance. I really suck at comforting people but I’m going to try my best. You have nothing to worry about here. The mer are friendly and I’m sure Asrai will be able to guide us through training for Aquafine. We each have a chance at winning, giving us twice the luck. If we prepare hard enough, there is no doubt one of us will win and we’ll be able to go home and send help for the other. Just trust me on this, ok? We have each other, so we’re not alone. We’re teammates, remember? We’re Paldains of Voltron for crying out loud! If anyone can win that-that- fish tournament, it’s us!” Keith gripped Lances shoulders supportively, calming Lance right down and making him feel strong and hopeful.  
“Thank you, Keith. I’m so glad we’re in this together, I’d not know what to do without you” Lance smiled so gorgeously that Keith felt his cheeks flare up.  
“No problem” he replied quickly, looking away so Lance couldn’t see him blushing. Dammit, Lance probably noticed though.  
“Well, I think we should make ourselves at home” lance spoke, wiping his eyes on the back of his hands and sniffling a little. Keith nodded.  
“I’ll be in my room if you need me” he said “Don’t worry Lance, ok? Just remember we are in this together”Keith added assuringly. Lance smiled back at him thankfully. Maybe this wasn’t going to be too bad at all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry that this chapter was probably a little boring, but I tried to input some more Klance this time! Next chapter will be about the banquet, which shall be coming soon!


	4. The Banquet

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Keith and Lance arrive at the Banquet only to find out some shocking news about Merfolk Tradition and their Propechy.

Keith swam to his room, feeling rather giddy. Had he actually just done an ok job at comforting Lance? And had he experienced Lance cry? He found it hard to believe but at the same time he also didn’t. Keith knew what it felt like to want to cry and then feeling like it wasn’t acceptable or easy to. He had felt like that all his life to be honest. Keith couldn’t help dwelling on his past, and began to feel hatred and sorrow. Next moment, he was picking up a shell and thrusting it at the wall, making a loud crack as it crumpled into smithereens. Lance rushed into the room to see Keith staring hotly at the broken shell, his face flushed and breathing rapid.   
“Keith, what’s wrong?” Lance questioned worriedly, bubbles forming out of his mouth as he spoke.   
“Nothing. Sorry, I was just overreacting” he replied, still feeling angry. Lance nodded and swam out of the room, it was quite obvious that Keith wanted to be left alone.

Later that evening, Asrai returned, covered from head to fin in beautiful shells, glowing foliage and shining jewellery. She spun round and round on the spot, creating a jet of bubbles as she waited impatiently for the paladins to get ready.  
“I don’t want to show up to the banquet looking trashy!” Lance heaved, panicking from trying to find something to pamper himself with. Luckily, Asrai has just the thing. She placed on top of Lance and Keith’s heads two carefully crafted coral crowns which instantly changed colour to match their tails. Lance smiled brightly and flashed finger guns at himself in the sea glass mirror.  
“Wonderful! Wonderful! You both look so handsome!” Asrai said, clapping her hands in pride.   
“Lets hurry to the banquet, everyone’s expecting you!” 

And with that, the three swam back through the glowing streets and to the pristine palace of Queen Elphyra. 

 

The halls were decorated with millions of tiny glow worms which illuminated a soft turquoise hue around the rooms. They swam to a large pair of pearl doors and were politely greeted by two buff, green mermen. The guards then opened the doors, allowing the others to enter into a humongous chandelier lit room lined with hundreds of coral tables, where tons of different looking platters sat upon, smelling delicious and making Lance and Keith’s stomachs rumble feverishly.  
Asrai led them to the top end of one of the large tables, where two golden thrones sat.   
“These are for you” Asrai said as she beckoned them to sit down. Lance and Keith exchanged excited looks as they rested upon the extremely comfy sponge cushions.

As time went on, the hall filled up with hundreds of different shaped and coloured mermaids and mermen, all looking very smart in their fancy clothing.  
They all at some point gave Lance and Keith greetings, which sometimes were in incomprehensible languages that they couldn’t understand. 

Once everyone had been seated, the Queen entered, wearing a stunning long weaved dress of pearls and pink seaweed. She then gave a speech, welcoming the paladins and everyone there.   
“It is with my greatest pleasure to welcome everyone of Lochmere here tonight to celebrate the arrival of the two Paladins of Voltron!”   
The hall erupted in a loud applause, cheers popping up from different areas of the room.   
“Please, Paladins, stand so we can begin the ceremony!”  
Lance and Keith glanced at Asrai who only beamed at them and gave a thumbs up with her two long slender thumbs.   
“Ceremony?” Lance whispered to Keith as they now became the centre of attention. Keith shrugged back, looking as nervous and confused as Lance was.  
“Now, as we mer folk all know, our prophecy of the Paladins arriving has a certain twist. Legend says that the two Paladins who would come to Lochmere one day, would both be married and protectors of each other and our community!”

 

Keith turned around, going pale as ever and looking utterly horrified. Lance couldn’t talk. This COULD NOT be happening. Keith began to feel rage building up inside him. This wasn’t what he expected at all. He turned to Lance who gulped continuously, looking on the verge of fainting. He was about to speak up, but the Queen cut him off.  
“Paladins, may you please hold out your right hands so you can be gifted two of the most expensive rings and be wedded properly and forever!” 

A little stubby merman approached them and snatched their hands up. No matter how much they struggled to keep their arms by their sides, the guy was too strong. Next thing you know, he was applying two shimmering diamond rings encrusted with tiny pearls around their fingers. He bowed and swam away, his little tail wiggling oddly as he did so.

 

The mer once again roared with celebration, including Asrai who must’ve known that this was the idea all along. Keith and Lance just stood there, staring at the jewellery on their fingers and not saying anything. The Queen silenced everybody and said one last thing before beginning the feast.  
“I know pronounce you lawfully wedded companions by the fate of legend and tradition!”

Once the feast had begun, Keith was out of the hall, swimming as fast as he could back to the house, tears starting to seep out of his eyes. What had he just done? What had he been thinking when he looked into that Seeing Well? Why him? Keith yelled infuriatingly, feeling his heart and brain begin to fill with atrocious anger.

Keith smashed through the door of the house and stumbled straight to his bedroom, tears clouding his eyes as he began to cry uncontrollably. A quiet but rapid ripple of water heard by Keith’s mer ears alerted him that someone was approaching the house rather quickly. 

Suddenly, Lance was shooting into the room looking worried and sick.   
“Keith!! Why did you leave?! Everyone’s looking-“  
“I DONT CARE LANCE!!!” He shrieked, more tears fuming into to rows of steaming bubbles.  
Lances eyes widened and a sudden flash of fear crossed them.  
“I’m- I’m sorry..I didn’t know this was going to happen!” Lance was beginning to sound upset.  
“Of course you didn’t! Of course all of this just happened and we got here by mistake!”  
“Are you saying this is all my fault?!” Lance asked furiously, hatred etching into his words.  
“OF COURSE ITS ALL YOUR FAULT! IF YOUR STICKY STUPID NOSE HADNT BEEN POKING AROUND WHERE IT SHOUDLNT BELONG, NONE OF THIS WOULD HAVE HAPPENED!!”   
Keith screamed so loudly his throat hurt and the tears hadn’t stopped. Lances fists curled into balls and he clenched his teeth, trying to calm down, but it didn’t work.  
“THEN WHY DONT YOU STAY OUT OF OTHER PEOPLES BUISNESS!!”  
Keith rose to be face to face with Lance, his eyes flashing dangerously and red from crying.   
“This-was-YOUR FAULT! NOT MINE! YOU UNDERSTAND?!!!!”   
Lance suddenly completely lost it. He shoved Keith hard against the wall and also began to cry, but he held his strength. Keith was no match for Lance and thrust him backwards, crashing into a pile of sharp coral. Blood started to seep from behind Lance, meaning he had been cut. His head whipped around and he brought his hand to touch his wound. He winced in agony as he pulled his hand away, revealing a massive spread of red. Lance looked up at Keith, who was staring back in shock, and swam up.   
“You know what?! I don’t care who’s fault it was! You can be your fucking angry emotional self whenever you fucking wanna be, Keith. But know this one thing, we will never ever, be married and we will never ever be friends. I hate you with all the hate in the world and I’m so sick of you always ruining my life! DO YOU SERIOUSLY THINK THAT IT HASNT BEEN BAD ENOUGH?!! DO YOU REALLY THINK I INTENDED FOR US TO END UP HERE?!!! I didn’t and you can’t blame me for your fucking problems!! I’m so done. I wish you never ended up here with me”  
Lance swam furiously out of the room, blood trailing behind him from where Keith had accidentally hurt him. He didn’t know what to do now. He felt bad and frustrated all at the same time. Keith couldn’t think straight and collapsed on the floor, wheezing as he cried even harder. Maybe Lance was right. He was just some stupid emotional idiot who ruined everything. He didn’t deserve to go home. He didn’t deserve to see any of the Paladins faces again. All Keith wanted to do was to curl up and disappear into some faraway place, never to return. He cried and cried until his head throbbed and he couldn’t stand the pain. 

Keith’s eyes began to falter. The last thing he remembered was seeing Asrai bursting through the door of his room, her face pale and anxious as she supported a weak but bandaged Lance and crying out for Keith to come back as he fell in and out of consciousness and went limp on the floor.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry that chapter 4 arrived a little late. I hope it didn’t seem to rushed and that it was decent in some way! Yes this chapter was rather angsty, but hope you still liked it!


	5. Never eat Mermaid food

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things are awkward between Lance and Keith as Lance begins to act strangely towards his teammate.

Keith awoke once again to a familiar rocky bed, but he wasn’t alone. Beside him lay a sleeping Lance who had a long thick bandage wrapped around his mid-section. Keith flinched at the sight, both angry and guilty. But why the hell were they in the same bed?! Hadn’t Asrai heard what happened?

As if she could hear his thoughts, the next moment Asrai was gliding through the door carrying two bowls of squirming critters.  
She was wearing her familiar bright smile and didn’t look at all concerned about either Keith or Lance.  
“You’re awake!” She sighed, placing the bowls on the bedside table.   
“How did Lance get that cut?” Asrai questioned, taking a seat on the edge of the bed.  
Keith sat up and looked sorrowfully down at the red scales spread out on his hands.  
“It was all my fault. I got angry at Lance and blamed him for us being here and that we were forced to get married”  
Asrai nodded, taking in the information then looking sad herself.  
“I’m sorry. I just was sure you both knew or heard of our traditions. But now I think about it, I don’t know where you would have...”

 

Keith looked beside him once more at Lances resting face. He looked so intense, his brows furrowed rigidly together. Keith longed to reach out and push them apart to make Lance look more at peace, but his conscious mind stopped him. What had gotten into him?  
“You cherish each other very much, don’t you?” Asrai whispered, her lips forming a small smile.  
“We’re just teammates” Keith declined, huffing out a short sharp breath.  
“Yes..I can see” Asrai answered sarcastically, now smirking.  
“What?”  
“Nothing. It’s just we mermaids tend to have a good idea of when someone is growing affectionate feelings for another” Keith’s eyes widened, Asrai laughing heartily.  
“I won’t tell” she promised. Keith leaned back stiffly against the wall, peering at Lance who was now stirring in his sleep. 

Suddenly, the boys eyes opened to reveal the dashing midnight blue as always and stared up at Keith sleepily before widening and jolting upright.  
“What are you-“ Lance began before Asrai shut him up with a big spoonful of the gross food she had brought. Lance gagged as he swallowed the horrendous stuff and pouted his lower lip annoyingly.  
“As I was saying. Why is Keith here?! Get him away from me!” Lance demanded, pointing an accusing finger at the red merman.  
“Excuse me! I woke up here too you know!”  
Asrai shoosed them both hurriedly and asked them to explain everything that had happened.

 

Once both Paladins had finished their bickering and explaining, Asrai wore an expression of deep thought.  
“Unfortunately, you will both have to stay married, even if it is only pretending. The mer will make an enormous commotion if you go against the traditions, so please go with it and try your best. I am thinking that this will be a good lesson for both of you though, and you might get something out of it”  
The mermaid gave a sly smile to Keith who stared intensely back at her.  
“Down to business. We need to begin your training for the Aquafine tournament. I have booked you some private lessons with one of best instructors who was also a winner of Aquafine”   
Asrai ushered the paladins to get ready and meet her at the Palace in half an hour. 

Breakfast was awkward for Lance and Keith. Both didn’t feel like talking nor looking at each other. It was the most silent Lance had ever been, Keith realised. Feeling the guilt to much now, he decided to apologise.  
“Lance, listen-I-I’m so sorry for hurting you last night. I don’t know what came over me and I know it was selfish and inconsiderate to blame you for us ending up here-” Lance was watching Keith with a blank expression, but didn’t interrupt.  
“Please forgive me and I’ll try my best to act reasonable with this marriage thing. If it will help us to get back home then-then I’ll pretend to be your husband if you do the same” Keith finished weakly and looked away, felling very embarrassed and ashamed, scared of what Lance was going to say.  
“I will hold you to those words” Lance nagged, giving Keith a little smile and laughing a little. He couldn’t believe it. That was it. They were good again?   
“But I really wish you hadn’t pushed me. That really hurt” Lance sulked, his smile fading and being replaced with another pout. Ok. Maybe Lance hadn’t exactly forgiven Keith yet, but it was better than Keith had expected.   
“Here let me look at it” Keith offered, wanting to at least do something to help Lances wound that he had impacted on him. Lance swivelled around in his chair, baring his back to Keith. He swam over and began to unwind the bandages until they revealed a deep irritated gash. Keith’s breath hitched in his throat, and he immediately put the bandages back on and swam to face Lance looking worried and aghast. The cut looked horrible and much worse than Keith thought.  
“Lance! I’m so- so sorry! I didn’t want to hurt you like that! I should’ve been more careful...doesn’t it hurt? Does it sting? Please just let me help you I-“

Keith’s panicking was stopped by Lance pulling Keith’s head towards his, their foreheads touching, Lances blue eyes sparkling.  
“You can make it up to me by pretending to be my husband so we can go home” Lances breaths were hot and shaky as his eyes faltered and looked towards Keith’s lips. Keith felt frozen and shocked. What was Lance doing? But before Keith could think any more, Lance had placed his own lips on Keith’s and kissed him. A warm rush of something Keith hadn’t never felt before rose inside him and he leant into it more.

 

Pulling away, Lance grinned, looking mischevious and captivating.  
“That was great! If we keep this up we’ll be fooling those merfolk like a piece of cake!”  
Keith was dumbstruck. Had Lance just been practicing or was that a sincere kiss?  
“Wait- what- why?” Keith couldn’t speak through flustered emotions.  
“Hush, Keefy boy. We must keep this up if we want to go home, understand?” Lance looked dreamily up at Keith who stared back in horror. Keefy boy? What had happened to the Lance he knew?

 

Like a lightbulb flicking on in his head, Keith finally figured out what was wrong. It was those gross squirmy critters that Asrai had fed Lance and in which Keith had refused to eat. They must’ve done something to Lances mind.  
Great, now he had a flirty teammate to deal with while trying to train for their only hope at getting back to the other Paladins.

Just to be sure, Keith asked Lance one more question.  
“How much do you love me, Lance?”  
The boy rolled onto his side against the table and leaned forward flirtatiously   
“To the thousand galaxies and back”  
Yep, Lance was definitely high on some sort of love treatment. But why had Asrai tried to feed them that? Hopefully she was just trying to help. 

Shrugging everything off, Keith beckoned Lance to follow him as they began to swim to their first training lesson for Aquafine. Please be ok, please be ok, Keith repeated in his head as he hoped and hoped that this session didn’t go wrong.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apologies for the extremely late chapter, and I hope I’m not rushing things too much between Keith and Lance, but hopefully you still enjoyed! 
> 
> Updates for this fic may be at random so please don’t expect daily or weekly ones, thanks :D


	6. Love is a controlling force

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Argus turns out to be a real trouble maker and Lance becomes more aware of his feelings towards Keith

The swim to the palace was highly awkward and frustrating. Lance continuously tried to flirt with Keith, who had just about had it with the compliments and praises. The love potion hadn’t worn off yet and it didn’t sound like it was wearing off anytime soon.

As they approached the enormous pearl doors of their destination, Keith turned frantically to Lance, a look of plead on his face. “Please try to act normal while we’re training. We don’t want to look like idiots and ruin our chance of competing”. Lances expression stayed completely dreamy and seductive, clearly Keith hadn’t made a dent in this boys mind.  
Exhaling a sharp breath, Keith swam forward as the two green merman guards pulled open the doors, Lance following suit.

Sure enough, Asrai met them there, but she looked quite cautious and afraid when Keith approached her, steam pretty much foaming out of his ears, well more like bubbles. His tail also began to glow a dangerous shade of red, mirroring his emotions.  
“What-have-you-done-to-Lance?!” He shouted in exasperation, bubbles erupting out of his gills.  
“I just gave him a little move along, that’s all” Asrai replied quietly but innocently, not meeting Keith’s violent stare.  
“That-“ he barked, pointing a finger furiously at Lance, “Is not a ‘little’ move along!”. The blue merman watched with satisfaction as his so called ‘husband’ fought with the mermaid.  
“You go babe! You tell her she can never have me, I’m yours and yours only!” He cheered, completely oblivious to what was happening. Keith gestured once more towards Lance.  
“You’ve fucked with his mind and now he can’t fucking think straight!”. Asrai threw her hands up in annoyance.  
“I was only trying to help!”. She pouted childishly, and then beckoned them to follow her.

The training arena was about the size of 10 sport stadiums. It was coated in magnificent sea foliage and flowed different colours of purple, pink, turquoise and the most mesmerising mixes you could think of.  
Standing at the entrance was a tall, buff merman. He had a long scar across his face and a very tattered pair of tail fins. He floated in the water, his arms crossed and looking even more threatening.  
“This is Argus” Asrai stated, placing her hands on his shoulders and smiling broadly. “And Argus, this is Keith and Lance. Our two Paladins who will be training with you for Aquafine!”.  
The merman glared at them, not looking at all happy to be there.  
“You must forgive him, he can be very serious sometimes. Isn’t that right, Argus?” Asrai asked expectantly. He grunted in reply and began to look very interested in a piece of seaweed swaying lazily in the water.  
“Does this guy even talk?” Keith asked rudely.  
“Of course I do, shell head” Argus growled, baring two perfect rows of razor sharp teeth. Lance squealed in amusement.  
“Ooh, a feisty merman! This should be fun~”. 

They headed straight to training, Argus stating that he did not want to waste anytime.  
“We will start with trident battling” he drawled, sounding incredibly bored and unsatisfied. “Red, take this golden trident, and Blue, take silver. Both start in first position”.  
Keith followed actions but Lance on the other hand was just fluffing about, pretending the trident was another merman and clicking affectionately around it like he was trying to impress the piece of metal.  
“Lance!” Keith yelled, his temper running extremely short. The merman stopped immediately and copied Keith’s pose.  
“On the count of three, I want you to fight and defend yourselves. You’re battling against one another, so use your combat skills, which I assume you’ve been taught by working with Voltron” Argus continued, watching carefully as he counted down.  
“THREE!”.  
Keith lunged forward, golden trident pointing directly at the half-unaware Lance who quickly switched into gear and blocked the strike.  
“Good!” Argus said, a hint of impression in his voice. “Go again!”.  
Lance was first to attack this time, but the potion took its toll and suddenly he was dropping onto Keiths chest, throwing both tridents aside and lifting his finger to trace Keith’s cheek bone.  
“You are so gorgeous” Lance purred, tilting forwards onto Keith’s lips and planting a long, addictive kiss upon them. Keith’s eyes widened, feeling slightly amused and still attempting to push Lance away, but the merman had wrung his arms tightly around Keith’s neck.  
“ENOUGH!!” Roared Argus, storming over and ripping Lance away from Keith, who was blushing so hard his skin had turned a completely different tone.  
“You” Argus seethed “Are pathetic! You, are the most ridiculous form of a merman I have ever seen, and your kind of utter disrespect and disappointment towards our kind will not be tolerated here in my training sessions!”.  
Lance shrank back, looking like a vulnerable innocent puppy.  
“Hey! That’s my teammate you’re talking too! You can’t blame him for acting that way, it’s the potions fault!” Keith strode forward and faced Argus bravely as he said this, feeling very protective of Lance.  
“Teammate?” Argus snarled, raising an eyebrow. “But I thought you were husbands”.  
Keith swallowed loudly, his eyes widening in fear.  
“Unless, of course, you’re going against our tradition and divorcing yourselves?”. Argus inched forward and appointed Keith with a vicious smile, looking like he had just created an evil master plan.  
Keith had to think fast. He couldn’t risk getting caught red handed now. He frantically turned to Lance and swam right up close to him, pulling out his best flirtatious stare and curling his lips wickedly.  
“Lancey Lance” Keith began, trying hard not to cringe. “This man is judging our ability for love in marriage. We don’t want that, do we?”.  
Keith raised Lances chin up with a sharp finger and fluttered his lashes prettily. Lances stare hadn’t answered back in that same love-forced way like it had before. Maybe Keith was messing with the potion effect too much? It was too late now.  
“Show me” Keith whispered affectionately  
“How much we really love each other”. And with that, Keith pulled Lance into the best kiss he had ever given. It felt so wrong to be kissing Lance like this but a slight feeling of enjoyment came out of it too.  
Keith noticed, suddenly, as he continued to make out with Lance, that the boys lips weren’t doing anything, they were just frozen in place. Keith pulled away to stare at Argus, who looked outraged at his wrong accusations. Perfect. Keith had fooled him. He looked back to Lance, but was met with a horrified and hotly flustered expression.  
“Keith- did you- what was-“ Lance stuttered, his eyes as big as saucepans. Keith’s mind ticked into place and he worriedly felt sick. The potion had worn off and he had kissed Lance afterwards.  
“Keith. Why did you just k-kiss me like that? Did you- do you- I-“.  
Lance couldn’t take it, and swam hurriedly out of the arena.  
“LANCE!” Keith called after the merman, Argus’ cackling laughs echoing behind him. Keith turned furiously towards Argus, his eyes flickering a threatening shade of purple. These boiling emotions took over Keith’s mind and next thing you know, he was lunging forward, trident in his grasp, clenching his teeth and breathing rapidly. Keith swung the trident and nicked Argus across the arm, blood oozing quickly from the fresh cut. Argus raised his gaze to sneer at Keith, and thrusting the other trident right at him.

The attack took Keith by surprise, but luckily he blocked the movement.  
“You think -this is-funny?” Keith stifled through clenched teeth, putting all his strength into fighting off the offence.  
“You don’t even know” Argus sneered, smiling devilishly. He swung Keith from off his feet, causing Keith to crash heavily to the ground and knocking the wind out of him. He rolled over onto his side, wheezing and gasping for air. Argus rose above Keith, trident held pointedly at his chest.  
Suddenly, Argus was swinging the trident at Keith, but before he even reached Keith’s chest, Lance was bursting back through the room and throwing Argus backwards with his arm around the mermans neck. Lance struggled to keep hold, but remained persistent in choking Argus’ breath out of his lungs.  
“Never- lay hands on my husband!” Lance heaved, pulling Argus even tighter and making his face turn purple.  
Keith took the chance to rush up and pin Argus to the ground with his trident, looking up at Lance and smiling gratefully.  
“Thanks, you saved my life” Keith breathed as he fought against the struggling body.  
Lance spotted a large coil of rope hanging from a shell in the corner of the stadium. Swimming to collect it and come back, he tied the rope around Argus and forced him to remain still.  
“What should we do with him?” Lance asked, glaring.  
“Tell the Queen” Keith replied urgently, ready to leave. 

They both swam straight to the Queens room, approaching the doors.  
Before Keith could enter, Lances hand swung out and grabbed his wrist, pulling Keith towards him.  
“I have one question for you”. Lances eyes stared vividly into Keith’s, shining a stunning hue of blue.  
“Did you mean that kiss before?”  
Keith choked on his own saliva.  
“I only did it as a trick, it was only-“  
“Did you feel anything else?” Lance urged on, a hint of hope in his wavering voice.  
“No! Why would you think that I loved you Lance? Just because we’re fake husbands doesn’t mean we’re actually a couple!” Keith blushed brilliantly, panicking a little.  
“I didn’t live in a family of three other siblings to know when someone was in love, Keith” Lance stated matter of factly, raising his eyebrows. Keith stared into those blue eyes once more, searching for something, but he didn’t know what.  
Lance watched hopefully, confidence beginning to drain out of him as Keith’s response held off longer and longer. 

 

Tension began to rise in the air as Keith felt a drip of sweat trickle down his neck.  
Maybe he did have feelings for Lance, but he couldn’t let the truth slip out. Atleast, not now. What would Lance think of him? What would the other Paladins think of him if they ever returned home?  
“Just say something. Anything” Lance plead, sounding even quieter and shy.  
“I’m sorry, Lance. No”. Lances eyes stared heartbroken right through Keith’s and he swam away hurriedly, hiding his face in his hands. Keith ticked his tongue in frustration as he looked at Lance then at the Queens bedroom doors. He had to go after Lance. And with that, he followed the merman.

 

Lances blue tail flickered in and out of view as he dodged between building after building, attempting to avoid Keith.  
“Lance!!” Keith shouted, bubbles gurgling in his throat. The merman ducked behind a large rock and disappeared. Keith dashed over and looked around, but he couldn’t see Lance anywhere.  
“Lance!” He hissed, attempting not to make a racket to cause attention. 

He let out a long, exasperated sigh as he crumpled to the sand in embarrassment and anger. He punched the rock fiercely, drawing blood from his knuckles. Keith clenched his teeth and fought back tears, which were forming at the corners of his eyes.  
“Please” he muttered helplessly, as he curled his tail under him and hugged himself.

Out of a corner, Lance emerged, looking still shocked but also concerned.  
“Keith. Are you alright?” He asked nervously, swimming cautiously towards him. Keith looked up and blushed, not wanting to meet Lances gaze.  
Lance sighed and sat down next to him, wrapping his tail around Keith’s. No words needed to be spoken as he hugged the red merman tightly, slightly shivering.

“Lance, I honestly don’t know what I think of that...kiss. I mean, maybe I enjoyed it.. but don’t you think this is moving a little fast?”.  
“This?” Lance questioned, meeting Keith’s eyes again.  
“Yeah. Us. You know, this fake marriage and all. But like I said to you, if we have to pretend in order to get home, I’ll do so”. 

Lances eyebrows furrowed and he looked down at his hands, curling in on himself. Keith sighed shamefully. Maybe Asrai had been right, maybe he would get something out of this. But he wasn’t sure yet, and he didn’t want to raise hopes. He clutched Lances hands in his and stared assuringly into his eyes.  
“I think. I think I might like you” Keith smiled, but it quickly faded as Lances eyes lit up hopefully.  
“But I can’t be sure. Do you like me?” Keith asked back testily.  
“I- I- think this marriage thing is messing with my feelings” Lance muttered sadly, obviously hiding something.  
“Yeah, me too. But if you, well, do like me, then let’s just stick to pretending for now. Ok?” Keith suggested helpfully, squeezing Lances hands.  
“Ok” Lance smiled back, returning the gesture. 

But how long could they pretend? How long would pretending really be “pretending”? Because these boys were starting to develop feelings for one another. Maybe it was the environment of Lochmere and becoming mermen. But maybe it was also truer feelings that had always been there. Maybe it was feelings that in the past they had pushed down with rivalry instead. Were these Paladins meant to be? Or was it all just an effect that would wear off when they became human once more? 

Lance was aware of the new emotions he had towards Keith. They were taking over him. The feelings had come out of nowhere, presumably from the recent support and nice side of Leith Lance had encountered, plus the fake marriage. He hadn’t felt true love in so long, and now he was craving to feel loved again. Being in space had felt so cold and lonely, but in Lochmere it was bright and warm, just like home. Lance hadn’t known how desperate for nurture he was until his new feelings for Keith formed. He could only wish and pray that Keith would either soon return the affection or that these feelings would just fade away all together.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am terribly sorry for the seriously late update. I had written this chapter but wasn’t sure whether I was happy with it or not so it was in editing for a little bit while I decided whether or not to upload. Anyways, the next chapter is in progress so hopefully there won’t be another late update like this one.  
> Hope you like it!


	7. It will be ok

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Keith has a close encounter in a training session and Asrai tries to make the paladins relax before Aquafine

The next few days, Lance and Keith were given orders to train with Asrai for Aquafine. She had been ultimately shocked at Argus’ behaviour and made sure that the Queen locked him up for it.

Being able to relax and properly focus on the task at hand, Keith now felt confident again in entering the tournament. He and Lance had been put through courses of trident battles, learning to ride a giant seahorse, venturing through the darkness, finding techniques to battle against weaker monsters in preparation for the massive one in the fourth challenge, and going through obstacles filled with traps for the last.

Today would be their second time fighting a large creature, and Lance was anything but looking forward to it.  
“I don’t know if I can take this anymore” he complained, as he swam nervously beside Keith to the arena.   
“Just keep a steady mind and you’ll be fine” Keith grunted in reply, a little sick of hearing Lances whines all the time.  
“What if I die?” Lance continued, not taking notice of Keith’s advice.  
“You won’t” Keith said shortly “I won’t let you”. Lance was taken aback by that, but it comforted him all the more. 

Sure enough, Asrai was waiting for them at the training arena, looking quite exhausted herself.  
“Morning” she yawned, stretching up her toned arms to reveal shimmering scales underneath. Both boys mumbled in response, just wanting to get the task over and done with.  
“Right, so as you know, today is you’re last proper training session before you have to start getting ready for the tournament in a few days times” Asrai explained. She had picked up the habit of using human terms now instead of the mer terms for days and so forth.   
“Got that right. But what do you mean by ‘getting ready’?”Lance questioned, a hint of uncertainty in his voice.  
“Y’know, outfits, going over rules and things like that”. Asrai said this as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.  
Lances face lit up at the mention of outfits. He loved to look fancy and all dressed up.   
“Lets get started, shall we?” Asrai beamed, clapping her hands together in excitement. Keith and Lance on the other hand drew in sharp breaths. They really didn’t want to do this.

The large gate rumbled open, revealing a dozen pairs of glowing eyes. The monster stepped out of the shadows and into the light, showing off masses of glittering armour-like scales which were neatly arranged in rows down the beings back. It had threateningly long, pointy teeth, bearing them in a saliva filled growl. The monsters tail was like a lions, instead the usual tuft of fur was replaced by a ball of dangerous spikes. 

Lances breath hitched in his throat, his eyes widening and reaching out to unconsciously clutch Keith around the arm. Keith raised an eyebrow, but allowed the gesture to pass, gripping his trident tightly in his other hand.  
“Get ready!” Asrai called, the ground riveting beneath them as the monster stepped further forwards on its four muscular legs.   
Lance switched into gear, Keith doing the same.   
“Remember, go for the weak spot!” Keith barked, his heartbeat rising. Lance nodded, his eye brows furrowing in concentration.

Both lunged forwards, swimming around the beast in unison to first confuse it. It roared in frustration as it tried to follow them at the same time but instead soon became dizzy and walked unsteadily on its feet.   
“Now for the eyes!” Keith ordered, darting towards a pair. He speared them easily, causing a gross, greenish goo to spurt out everywhere. Lance followed and did the same, more muck flying through the air. 

They continued like this until the beast collapsed in pain on the ground, letting out one last exhausted, surrendering breath.  
“That was easy” Lance puffed, smiling in relief.  
“Yeah...that was....” Keith gazed unsurely at the monster. Something didn’t feel right. It was too easy...

Suddenly, like a robot being given newly charged batteries, the beast came to life, shrieking out an ear-splitting roar. Keith and Lance spun round to come face to face with the large rows of teeth belonging to the monster, dripping large droplets of stinky saliva all over the ground. 

Backing away slowly, Lance gripped extra firmly to his trident, Keith doing the same to his own. To their surprise, the monster began to sing a high pitched harmony of notes. The sound made Keith and Lance feel extremely drowsy and enraptured in the melody, making it hard to fight against its lure.  
“Ignore it!” Asrai yelled, trying to bring them back to reality. Keith shook his head obediently, drowning out the song and instead diving straight for the monsters heart.   
Unfortunately, it was hidden beneath a large shell of armour, but an opening behind one of the scales offered Keith the opportunity to reach the designated organ.   
Keith drew in a large breath, assessing his situation. If he could dodge past the beast while it was distracted by Lance, he could get a good attack. 

Tensing through his muscles, Keith rushed forwards with momentum, aiming straight for the heart, not taking notice that the beast was now aware of his approach.  
“NO!” Lance screamed as Keith was snatched out of the air and disappeared inside the monsters jaws, a loud murderous crunch following.

Lance propelled himself forward, trying hurriedly to release Keith, but it was no use. Lance could feel his face paling as he continuously failed to open the monsters mouth.   
“LET HIM GO!! LET HIM GO!!” Lance shrieked, stabbing ferociously at wherever he could on the beast’s body.  
Asrais voice thundered across the stadium, screaming for the beast to obey her orders and let Keith go, but nothing was working.   
Lance could feel hot tears streaming down his face, his heart beating at the speed of light.  
“No....” he croaked, dropping to the ground in shock. Lance covered his face with his hands, his shoulders trembling and legs like jelly. This was only supposed to be a training session, not the actual, deadly match.

Without warning, the beast crashed into the gate, falling over loudly in a cloud of sand. Lances head shot up in surprise, his vision blurred from crying. If his mind wasn’t tricking him, he swore he could make out the mouth of the brute forcibly being opened and a flash of a red tail. He rubbed his eyes hastily, eagerly getting up.   
Lance couldn’t believe it. It was Keith. He was wrenching open the beasts mouth with his trident, which was stabbed right through the roof of its jaws. Keith fell out, collapsing to the ground breathing heavily.   
“Thank god!” Lance cried, swimming forwards.   
“I’m alright” Keith chuckled, wiping his forehead with the back of his hand.   
Lance caressed Keith’s face in his palms, looking him straight in the eyes.  
“Don’t ever do that to me again, I thought you were a goner!” Lance exclaimed, but he could already feel his own face beginning to grow a smile.  
Keith shoved Lance back playfully, laughing at his concern.  
“It was all part of the plan!” He assured, getting up.  
“Yeah, Yeah, of course it was” Lance mocked, still grinning.

Asrai rushed over to them, her face red from panic.  
“I swear on my mothers pearls, you nearly gave me a stroke!” She wailed, shaking Keith weakly on the shoulders.  
“It was all part of his ‘plan’” Lance mocked again in a cheeky tone. Keith huffed in exasperation.  
“Wow, super nice!” He spat sarcastically, heading out of the arena, and waiting at the entrance for the others to follow.

“Let’s go to the healing coves!” Asrai suddenly piped up, her expression dramatically changing from exhausted to ecstatic.   
“Healing coves?” Both boys raised an eyebrow at this, not really liking the idea.  
“They are so relaxing! It’s magnificent, I can’t believe I haven’t taken you guys there yet! Come, let’s go right now, we could use with some down time, don’t you think?”.   
Asrai gripped Keith and Lance each around the wrists and hurled them forwards with her, guiding them straight to the coves.

They approached the glowing opening of what appeared to be a massive cluster of rocks, with caves carved out of them from the inside. A sweet scent was extracting from the rooms within, a light dreamy feel casting over them as they inhaled it.

Asrai lead the way, showing Lance and Keith into a room with the most extraordinary scenery they had ever seen. The cave was covered head to toe in glowing blue, pink and purple crystals, all pulsing gently in time with the sparkling pristine, ripples of the water fall flowing into the pool. Large underwater ferns were arranged all around the edges, silently swaying lazily in movement with the crystals as well. The room looked like something out of an imaginary, underwater, pricey gazebo, in which now, it pretty much was.

“The water has special healing chemicals that work in an instant for nearly every wound. And, if you dip your head under the water, you can hear the mer choir singing from far away” Asrai informed, beaming brightly and looking very eager to hop in.  
“This is amazing and all, but one question, why do mer people have underwater pools if they’re already underwater?” Lance asked curiously, sounding a little judgmental.  
“Well, why do humans have special mechanisms such as...Uh.. those whirly things, what are they called?”  
“Fans”  
“Fans! Yeah, why do humans have fans if they already have air on Earth? Same concept” Asrai shot back, smirking winningly at Lance who just clucked his tongue in response.  
“Not really the same, but doesn’t matter” Keith added on, dipping his fingers in the pool to test the waters temperature.

“Well, what are you waiting for? Hop in!” Asrai chimed, her tail disappearing beneath the water as she climbed into the pool.   
Lance quickly followed, letting out a massive sigh as the warmth embraced him. Keith was a little reluctant at first but soon joined them both, instantly feeling his muscles loosening up from the healing properties in the liquid.   
“Do you guys feel like something to eat or drink?” Asrai asked, beckoning over a young mermaid who Lance and Keith hadn’t noticed beforehand sitting in the corner. 

The mermaid approached them, her eyes glowing a gorgeous green and hair flowing red and gold around her face.   
“What can I get you?” She assisted soothingly, eyeing Lance with interest. Lance blushed lightly, coughing awkwardly and shifting closer to Keith.  
“Paladin, do not worry. I am aware you are married to the red merman beside you” the mermaid giggled, smiling innocently. Lance grinned at this, laughing too.  
“I’ll get the best drink you have!” Lance ordered, smacking his hand down on the water and causing Keith to get splashed with it. He grunted in annoyance, nudging Lance roughly in the waist.   
“What?” Lance asked, raising his eyebrows and stifling a laugh. 

“Very well” the green eyed mermaid answered, turning to Keith. “And you?”.  
“The same thanks” he replied, before the mermaid could even open her mouth.  
Asrai then gave her order and the mermaid departed, fetching their drinks.  
“That was my cousin, Layane” Asrai informed the mermen, sitting back and disappearing even more beneath the water. Lance did the same, going fully underneath.

A burst of bubbles suddenly erupted to the surface of the water, Lances head breaking the ripples shortly after.  
“Woah! The choir is so cool! Keith, you have to try it!” Lance said this with wide eyes.   
“What? no I’m g-“ Keith’s voice was cut off from Lance shoving his head under. Keith squirmed at first but soon relaxed and remained beneath the water, listening intently to the music. Lance went under to meet Keith’s eyes, which were full of amazement. Lance smiled brightly, bubbles streaming from the corners of his lips. Keith laughed, more bubbles clouding around them.   
In that moment, they both felt so at peace. Like they could just forget everything that had happened. Like they could be home again. The thought crossed each of their minds, wiping the happy expressions from their faces and bringing back up from the water.  
“I miss everybody so much” Lance sighed heavily, slouching miserably against the edge of the pool.   
“Me too” Keith replied, crossing his arms huffily, trying hard to not think about it. 

Asrai watched with sorrowful eyes, feeling sympathy for the paladins but also hope that they would soon get to return home. No one talked for a long time, not even when Layane showed up with their drinks.

Asrai finally broke the silence, hopping out of the pool and disturbing its waters with a rush of ripples.  
“I suggest we get some rest. Tomorrow and the next few days will be last finishing touches in preparation for the tournament” she said, beckoning Keith and Lance to follow. 

Reluctantly, both boys followed Asrai back to the house, their exhausted minds starting to mess with them.  
“I’ll see you in the morning” Lance yawned, heading straight to his room without a glance back at the others.  
“Goodnight!” Asrai called, giving Keith a small wave before swimming to her own room. Keith floated awkwardly in the centre of the kitchen, not really sure whether to go to bed or stay up a little while longer. Maybe he should just sit down and ponder on his thoughts about Aquafine. No, that was a bad idea. He would never get to sleep if he did that. 

All the procrastination Keith had done was finally stopped by Lance emerging from behind his door, his eyes red and puffy.  
“Lance? What’s the matter?” Keith asked, swimming to his side and wrapping an arm around him.  
“Nothing, I just really want to go home” Lance sniffed helplessly, his chest shaking as he drew in a large breath. Keith faced Lance, cupping his jaw.  
“We’ll be ok. We will get home. You just need to stay strong. In here” Keith pointed to Lances head, “and in here” he then pointed to Lances heart. Lance smiled weakly, laughing lightly.  
“My mum used to say that”. His voice cracked and suddenly he was in full blown tears, his breathing rapid and hard to control.   
Keith panicked at that moment, surprised and taken aback at the sudden burst of emotion.   
What would the other Paladins do? How would Lances family act? Keith did the only thing he knew that would help. He hugged Lance as tightly as he could, imagining that it was himself comforting his own shaking body when he cried alone at night sometimes. He didn’t want Lance to feel that way. Like there was no hope at escaping. Like there was no light to be seen. Like you were falling down an endless black hole to nowhere.   
Lance returned the gesture, his tears soaking Keith’s shoulder and neck.  
“It’ll be ok. Everything will be ok” Keith whispered. He needed to stay strong for both of them. Because if they had any chance at getting home, that’s what they had to do.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was meant to be a pretty chill chapter, just to lead up to the tournament :D

**Author's Note:**

> So this is the first chapter of my klance merman au. I hope you enjoyed it so far. I promise next chapter will be about the mermans!


End file.
